The Crash Dragon
by Dr. Death MD
Summary: After Lisanna's death, Natsu was depressed. Gildarts came to him with a proposition. One that Natsu could not pass up. Leaving the guild to train with Gildarts will lead Natsu down a path to power he didn't even realize he had. This is strictly NatZa
1. Prologue to Power

**Anyways, I decided to take up this story since I know a lot of people liked it and I couldn't stand that it wasn't being updated. I think I might also take up Black Blooded Dragon by the same author since I liked the idea of that one.**

 **If you have a problem with this, tell it to someone else because I just wanted this to be updated.**

 **I do not own Fairy Tail, it is owned by Hiro Mashima. This is the only disclaimer I will do because that fact will never change.**

* * *

It was a rainy day in Magnolia, a week after the death of Lisanna Strauss. No one could believe that the cheerful and sweet Strauss sister died so soon, at such a young age. Mirajane stayed cooped up in her house, crying from the guilt of believing that it was her fault. Elfman became withdrawn lately, blaming himself for killing his little sister. No one had seen much of Natsu lately, he didn't even attend Lisanna's funeral, something that surprised everyone, as they thought that he would want to pay his respects. Not even Natsu's friend Happy knew the whereabouts of Natsu.

* * *

A certain scarlet haired knight was walking down the street, using an umbrella to cover herself from the rain. She was just passing by the graveyard when something caught her eye, a damp mop of pink hair.

"Natsu? What is he doing here?" She mentally asked herself as she turned and walked in the direction of the Dragon Slayer. She noticed that he was in his usual sleeveless vest, and had nothing to cover himself from the rain, "Isn't he cold?" she idly thought, before she noticed the name on the gravestone that was in front of him, making her stop in her tracks.

Lisanna Strauss.

"He came to visit her grave?" Erza thought in sadness, she wondered how Natsu must be feeling right now.

Lisanna was his best friend, in fact, now that she thought about it, she was the only friend he had in the Guild. She felt a pang in her chest when she thought about how the death of his friend must be affecting the boy. Usually if he was feeling down, Erza would just beat him instead of helping him with his problem, and then Lisanna would come and cheer him up. But that couldn't happen now.

Erza decided that the best thing to do right now was to do what Lisanna would have done, instead of what she would normally do. She walked up to Natsu until she was standing right next to him, and noticed that his clothes were completely soaked. She frowned when she noticed his dull, empty eyes as he stared blankly at Lisanna's gravestone.

"Hey Natsu." She said softly, but got no response from the pink haired boy. "Natsu?" She asked again, placing a hand on his shoulder. Still no response. She sighed.

She turned to leave, but then she heard Natsu's voice. "I- If… If I was stronger… do you think I could have gone with them?" His voice was hoarse and weak, clearly he hadn't spoken to anyone for a while. Erza frowned. "Do you think she'd still be here with me… with us… if I was stronger?"

Erza turned to look at him and was taken aback by the look on his face. His eyes were lost, and he looked confused about what he should do. She had never seen him look so defeated. "Natsu… You can't blame yourself for her de- "

"No!" Natsu shouted, his eyes becoming misty, "It's my fault! Before they left, Lisanna asked me if I wanted to go with them, but Mirajane said that I was too weak… if… if I was stronger… I could have gone with them… and Lisanna would still be here… with me." Natsu turned around and faced Erza, causing the red haired girl's eyes to widen when she saw his appearance. His eyes had deep bags underneath them, his skin was pale, and his cheeks were hollow.

"Natsu… how long have you been here?" She asked in shock.

"… Wednesday…" Natsu whispered after a slight pause.

"W- Wednesday!? You've been sitting here for four days!?" Erza exclaimed in shock, "What did you do about food? Where did you sleep, Natsu?"

"…n't…" Natsu mumbled quietly.

"What was that?" Erza asked as she kneeled down beside him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

"I… I didn't." Natsu whispered, "I didn't sleep or eat… I just want her back." Natsu sobbed, "She was my best friend! Why did she have to die!? She promised that she'd come back, so why!? Why did she leave me!?" Natsu screamed in frustration, burying his face into the crook of Erza's neck.

"Shh, Shh, it's okay Natsu. Just let it out." Erza whispered in Natsu's ear as she rubbed his back and consoled him.

It took about ten minutes before Natsu stopped crying over the death of his friend, and Erza couldn't blame him. She had an idea of what he was going through, due to what happened with Jellal, even though he didn't die. She made up her mind right then and there, she would help Natsu. There was no way in hell that she would let him go through what she went through.

She slowly stood up with up Natsu and placed her arm around his shoulder when he stumbled a bit, "He must have stayed sitting down these past four days." She thought. "Come on Natsu, let's get you to my home. I'll take you to Fairy Hills, and if anyone has a problem with it, I'll take responsibility." She commented, getting a weak nod from him.

As they walked away from the graveyard and into the streets of Magnolia, they both failed to notice an orange haired man watching them with a serious look on his face.

"He wants to get stronger, eh?" A smile made its way onto the man's face, "I guess I've found an apprentice."


	2. Proposition

Erza sighed as she watched Natsu sleep. Just as she thought, some of the girls tried to tell her it was against the rules for boys to be at Fairy Hills, but as soon as they saw how Natsu looked they stayed quiet and let the Titania carry the Dragon Slayer to her room.

After they arrived at her room, Erza had Natsu sit at her table while she made him something to eat, which the Dragon Slayer was grateful for, before she lead him to her room and let him sleep on her bed. Natsu practically passed out as soon as his head hit the pillow. Erza absently stroked Natsu's hair as she thought about the look on Natsu's face earlier.

" _He looked so defeated, completely different from how he usually acts… just how hard did Lisanna's death hit you, Natsu?_ " Erza thought with a frown on her face. " _I never want to see that look on your face again, the Natsu I know should never look like that."_

" _Just how am I going to help you, Natsu?_ " Erza thought in distress.

* * *

 **Fairy Tail Guild**

The third guild master of Fairy Tail, Makarov Dreyar was about to lock up the guild doors for the night, before he heard footsteps approaching him. Makarov is an extremely short, elderly man. He has black eyes and is growing bald with only the outer rims of his head containing white hair. He also has a thick white mustache. He has a black stamp of Fairy Tail hat covers his entire chest area, but you wouldn't be able to see it. He was shown dressing in a casual manners which consist of a white shirt with a black Fairy Tail stamp in the middle which covered by an orange hoodie. His attire was completed with matching orange shorts and an orange and blue stripes designed jester hat.

He turned his head and saw Gildarts Clive, the guild's Ace, who interrupted his 100 year mission and returned after he heard about the death of Lisanna Strauss. Gildarts is a tall and muscular man with shoulder length reddish orange hair, which is kept slicked back, and some stubble around his mouth and on his chin. Gildarts' attire is simple and practical, consisting of a dark, tattered cape over his bare chest, with a high collar and armored plates on the shoulders, held closed by a belt and usually covering his whole figure, and loose dark pants, complete with an armored waist guard with plates similar to the ones on his shoulders, tucked inside simple boots.

"Hello Master." Gildarts said.

"Hello Gildarts, might I ask what you're doing here so late? Usually you would be at your house or leave to continue your 100 year mission." Makarov stated, wondering what was going on.

"Well, there's something I want to talk to you about." Gildarts said with a serious expression on his face, something that was rare for the orange haired man.

Makarov raised an eyebrow, "Oh really? And what exactly do you want to talk about?"

"I want to talk to you about Natsu."

* * *

 **The Next Day**

Natsu groaned as his eyes fluttered open, before he shut them when light hit his face. He felt a soft surface underneath him and a warm blanket covering him, and wondered where he was. Memories from last night flooded his brain and his eyes widened, "Erza…"

He heard the door open and saw Erza walk in. He saw a look of surprise cross her face before she smiled at him, "Glad to see you're up, Natsu. I thought you were going to sleep all day."

Natsu chuckled forcefully, "Yeah, well I feel like I could."

Erza frowned when she heard Natsu's fake laugh, " _He must still be feeling depressed._ " She gave him a small smile, "Come along, Natsu, we're going to go get some breakfast."

"O-Okay, Erza." Natsu said before he got out of Erza's bed, noticing how wet it was. He turned to Erza with an apologetic and slightly fearful look, "S-Sorry about your bed Erza, I'll clean it up." He said before Erza waved him off.

"Don't worry about it Natsu, I'll clean it up later. Besides, I let you sleep in my bed so you shouldn't feel bad about it." Erza spoke softly, not wanting Natsu to feel worse than he already does.

"Okay, Erza." Natsu gave her a small smile before he walked towards the door.

Erza smiled at him and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Come on, let's go to the guild. I'm sure people want to know how you're doing, and if Gray tries to fight you, I'll have your back."

As they walked out of Fairy Hills and towards Magnolia, Erza kept glancing in Natsu's direction and frowned when she noticed that he still had a slightly lost look in his eyes.

They walked for about 15 minutes before Erza stopped in front of a café, prompting Natsu to stop as well. Natsu breathed in the sweet aroma coming from the café and felt his mouth water at the smell. He followed Erza inside and they looked at the menu on the wall before they ordered their food.

They sat down at a table and waited for their food to be prepared. Natsu forced a smile, "Thanks for letting me stay with you last night, if you didn't I would probably still be at the graveyard." His voice cracked a little at the end.

Erza frowned, "It was no problem Natsu, it was the least I could do for you." She said softly, placing her hand on his.

Natsu gave her another forced smile, though this one appeared to be a bit genuine. Natsu looked down at the food that was set in front of him, and whispered, "Thank you Erza, thank you so much."

* * *

 **Later**

The Guild was back to its usual rowdy self, though you could tell that people were still mourning the death of Lisanna. Currently, the Guild was having one of their infamous brawls, and that was the scene that Natsu and Erza walked in on.

They both greeted their guild mates and headed over to a table and sat down, "Well, looks like the Guild hasn't changed much." Natsu commented.

"Yeah, though they were really sad, I suppose they decided that Lisanna would want them to be happy."

Natsu looked down, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Hey guys!" They heard a familiar voice, and they were both surprised to see Mirajane with a kind smile on her face wearing a frilly maroon dress.

"Mira?" Natsu asked incredulously.

"Yep!" Mira said in a cherry voice, "I didn't know you guys were a couple!"

"W What!?" Erza said in disbelief. "We're not a couple!"

Mirajane giggled, "Oh don't worry Erza, I was only kidding!"

Before Erza or Natsu could give a retort, they heard the Master's voice coming from right behind them, "Ah, Natsu! Just the person I was looking for!"

They both turned and saw the Master wearing his usual outfit, and saw that while he looked laidback, there was a seriousness in his eyes that instantly made their backs straighten.

"What do you need Master?" Natsu asked nervously.

"Follow me to my office." Makarov said before he turned on his heel and walked towards his office, Natsu trailing behind him.

When they entered his office, Natsu was surprised to see Gildarts there, who greeted Natsu with a smile on his face. "Hello there, Natsu."

"What are you doing here Gildarts?" Natsu asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, I have a proposition for you. Something that will help you get stronger.

"You can help me get stronger? How!?" Natsu practically yelled.

Gildarts smirked, "How would you like to become my apprentice?"


	3. The Beginning

**And this is where I start on the story, I really hope you guys like it.**

* * *

Erza couldn't believe what she just heard, staring at Natsu as if he had three heads. "What do you mean you're going on a trip with Gildarts?" Her voice was low, as to not alert the other people in the guild. She didn't believe they needed to know this information.

"He told me that he could make me stronger if I went with him. You know I can't pass up an opportunity like this." Erza could feel the desperation dripping from his words.

Her stomach started to twist in knots. She knew that he couldn't pass this up. Too much was on the line for him. He believed that he could make it up to Lisanna. But at the same time, she was worried. She promised herself that she would help Natsu, but how could she do that if she couldn't be there for him?

"How long are you planning to be gone?" She asked, trying to hide her worry. Natsu smiled sadly at her.

"I don't know, a few months, maybe a year. I just need to make sure I'm strong enough this time." He felt her hand on his, and looked into her eyes. He didn't know what it was, but the pain in his chest lessened the more he peered into her brown orbs. He snapped out of it as he heard her talk.

"Just promise me you'll be safe, okay?" Her request surprised him, he had never heard her say anything like that before. Sure, she always cared about the safety of everyone in the guild but she had never used that much sincerity and worry in her words. He gave her his classic grin, lifting her spirits at the sight.

"Don't worry about me, Erza. I'll be back and better than ever before you know it!"

"You idiot, I'll always worry." Erza shook her head. "So when do you leave?"

"Gildarts gave me a week, told me to wrap up any loose ends. I don't know what to do though. I don't want to worry anybody at the guild. They've been through enough."

Erza sighed, even though he was still in pain he worried about others. "Natsu, you don't have to tell them anything if you don't want to."

The two were silent for a few minutes, the only noises filling their ears was the chatter of their guild mates. Abruptly, Natsu stood up, causing Erza's focus to immediately be drawn to him. He gave her a soft smile, "I'm going to come back stronger than ever, and when I do I swear I'm going to surpass you."

Erza felt her lips tug at that, before a giggle escaped her lips. Natsu heard her and frowned, "What!? What's so funny!?"

Erza stopped giggling as she looked straight into Natsu's eyes. "I have no doubt that one day you will surpass me, but don't think that day will come soon. I will not slack in my training one bit, Natsu."

She saw it once again, a glimmer of the fire he once held in his eyes. A small spark, almost insignificant at first, but she knew better. That one spark would become a blazing inferno, and she smiled.

* * *

 **Later That Day**

Natsu and Erza spent the rest of the day together, talking and laughing. Natsu was surprised that Erza was able to make him feel better, but the pain of Lisanna's death was still fresh in his mind. The two were currently at Magnolia Park, the sun just starting to go down. They were seated on a bench, simply enjoying each other's company. It was silent between the two, no words needed to be said.

Both had different things on their minds. For Erza, it was Natsu's wellbeing. She hoped that he could eventually move on from the slump he was in the past four days. Her sudden worry for the Dragon Slayer confused her, but she just knew that she had to make him feel better.

For Natsu, it was getting stronger under Gildarts. He needed to get stronger, so that he wouldn't lose anyone else. He will not let what happened to Lisanna happened to anybody else.

Erza glanced at Natsu, and took in his features. _"Since when did he look so mature?"_

She continued to examine Natsu, before he noticed her eyes on him. "Something wrong, Erza?"

She shook herself out of her stupor, and turned away from him so that she stared at the sunset. "No, not at all."

* * *

 **The Day of Natsu's Departure**

The past week went by rather quickly, Natsu and Erza spending time together and just enjoying each other's presence for the most part. Natsu had decided that telling the other people at the guild was probably not for the best. He didn't even tell Happy, you had spent all of his time with Elfman and Mirajane in an effort to comfort himself. Natsu couldn't bring himself to tell the little guy.

Luckily, Erza and Master Makarov would cover for him. The three of them fabricated a story about him taking a long mission that would help the guild in the long run. Natsu truly didn't know how long he'd be gone, but promised that he would return no matter what.

Erza was standing against a wall around the outskirts of Magnolia, without her armor and her arms folded underneath her bosom. She had her eyes closed, waiting for something. Footsteps grew closer and she opened her eyes, a mop of pink hair entering her line of sight.

"Good morning, Natsu." She greeted calmly, a friendly smile on her face. She and Natsu really got close these last couple of days. They had even went out to lunch together a few times, something that was actually quite enjoyable for Natsu.

He had started to see a side of Erza he didn't know was there, a much more caring and casual side to her. She even stopped wearing her armor around him, which surprised him due to her constantly wearing it in the past. He wouldn't even be surprised if she wore it in her sleep.

"Good morning, Erza!" He replied, giving her a grin. Her companionship was very well needed this past week. She distracted him, and gave him an ear to vent his problems to. He was sad because now he wouldn't have that until he got back.

"Today's the big day, right?" Her smile turned sad.

"Yeah, I have to meet Gildarts in an hour. We're not talking the train, which is great. I guess there's one good thing about Gildarts' magic being too destructive."

Erza giggled at the relief in his voice, "Yeah, I guess there is."

The pair continued to laugh for a few moments before Natsu's face became serious, causing Erza to do the same. "I've decided something."

"Oh, really? What is it?" She inquired.

"I'm not just going to surpass you." He stated. "I'm going to surpass Laxus too, and even Gramps! I'm going to become the strongest mage in Fiore, I swear to you!"

Erza blinked at his declaration, she had never heard him say that. Sure, he had always said he would beat her or Laxus but he had never mentioned anything like the goal he just set for himself. _"Perhaps this is because of Lisanna. Maybe he wants to honor her."_

"Natsu…" she whispered, staring directly into his eyes. Time seemed to slow down for the two as they locked eyes. Brown met onyx, and tension filled the air. They stayed like that, until it was broken by the Knight. She seized him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders as she brought him close.

Unsure of what to do, Natsu returned her action, wrapping his arms around her midsection. She was an inch or two taller than him, but that seemed irrelevant at the moment.

"I'm sure you will, Natsu. I'm sure you will."

"My, my, what do we have here? Could it be that the mighty Titania has taken a liking to a certain Salamander?"

They started at the voice, jumping apart from each other as they looked towards the source. About ten feet away from them stood Fairy Tail's Ace, Gildarts Clive. "I've been looking for you Natsu, I decided maybe we should leave a little bit early. Get a head start, you know?"

"I-uh-I guess." Natsu agreed reluctantly, a bit upset that his moment with Erza was ruined. He turned to the red head, and gave an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Erza. I guess I gotta go, huh?"

"I guess so." There was absolutely no enthusiasm in her voice, which was evident to both men.

Gildarts scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment, _"Great timing, Gildarts. Great timing."_

"Well, come along Natsu." The Crash Mage said.

"Okay, give me a minute. Go on without me, I'll catch up."

He seemed unsure, but nodded nonetheless. "Just don't take too long."

Gildarts walked away from the two, into the forest around Magnolia. It didn't take more than ten seconds before the sound of screaming animals and falling trees made its way into the two mages' ears.

"You know, I'm actually going to miss you, Erza." Erza was shocked as she saw tears well up in Natsu's eyes. "These last few days have been really fun."

Erza couldn't bear to see him shed another tear, so she pulled him into another hug. "You and I both know that this isn't goodbye."

"That doesn't make it much easier." Natsu told her, as he pulled away from her embrace. He looked towards the forest, where his new teacher was still causing mayhem. "I really should go, don't want to get lost from him."

He started to jog into the forest, only to stop after thirty feet. He turned back to the redhead, "I'll see you later, Erza." He called to her before he started jogging again.

She smirked at his retreating form, never taking her eyes off of him.

"Yeah," She started, "See you later, Natsu."

* * *

 **I'd really like to know what you guys thought of this.**


	4. First Steps

**I'm planning on focusing at least 5 chapters on Natsu's training, and I'm thinking about having other people come in to help with Natsu's training.**

 **Hopefully I can pull it off well.**

 **I also hope I did good with this chapter.**

* * *

"So are you gonna teach me anything or what?" Natsu asked, seated at a campfire. He had spent a little over a week with Gildarts and so far all they had done was travel. He wouldn't have minded it so much if something interesting happened, but NOTHING happened. Not a single monster attack, magic battle, anything. It was starting to frustrate Natsu to no end!

"Huh, did you say something?" His 'mentor' questioned, looking up from his food.

Natsu facepalmed, he thought going training with Fairy Tail's Ace would help him, but so far nothing has happened. They were in the woods around Clover Town, camping out. Natsu had no problem with that part of the experience, he liked the forest. He grew up in one, which helped a lot.

"You should really chill out, Natsu. Too much stress isn't good for young man such as yourself." The nonchalant way Gildarts spoke was starting to get on his nerves. He was close to decking him in the face, his already small amount of patience wearing thin. "But if you must know, we're hunting a monster."

"Wait, what?"

"The reason we left a little early is because the Master told me about a master that has been terrorizing a village towards the east of here. So far, it's killed around a dozen townsfolk, and those are just the ones the mission request talked about." Gildarts' face was serious, his former nonchalant attitude completely gone. "I want you to take it down, Natsu."

Natsu knew he had to, there was no choice. He could not let anymore innocent people die, he would not allow it. "Okay, I'll do it. But if you knew about this the entire week, how come you're just now telling me about it?"

"Well actually…" He started, "I kind of forgot until now." Gildarts told him sheepishly.

Natsu fell down onto his back and started twitching, "Are you fucking serious?" He yelled as he got back up.

"My, what language. You know it's not proper for a teenager to use such adult language."

That was it. Natsu was now flying at the man with a flaming fist, ready to knock his lights out. Gildarts dodged to the right and knocked him out in one motion.

"Geez, he's gonna be a handful."

* * *

 **The Next Day**

The duo were walking on the main path of the road, and their destination just got into their sight. As they walked, Natsu noticed a small sign that read Littleroot Town.

"Okay, Natsu we have to go meet the Mayor so he can brief us on the mission." Gildarts told the pink-haired boy.  
"What's there to say? All we have to do is find this monster and stop it!" Natsu declared, slamming his fist into his other palm. Gildarts shook his head.

"Normally, that's what I'd do, but it is not what you will do. You must have proper information first, or else you could get even more people hurt." His voice was stern, leaving no room for arguing.

Natsu gritted his teeth, was he saying he was too weak? He was snapped out of his angry thoughts as he felt someone bump into him. "Oi, watch it!" He snapped, before he actually saw who it was.

A little girl around six years of age with light purple and sparkling blue eyes was staring up at him from her position on the ground. He instantly felt bad when he noticed the tears welling up in her eyes.

"Tsurara!" A feminine voice called out, and a woman who looks just like an older version of the girl came to her side. She helped the little girl to her feet, frowning at her dirty clothes. "Say that you're sorry, Tsurara."

Natsu shook his head, and waved it off awkwardly, "No, it's my fault. I should have been paying more attention. Sorry there, are you okay?"

The girl hid behind her mother, or that's what everything pointed to anyways. Her big yellow eyes stared at Natsu for a moment, before her small voice reached his ears. "Y-Yeah. I'm fine Mister."

Natsu squatted down so that he was eye level with the girl, and gave her a big smile. This in turn, put a smile on the girl's face as well. Gildarts chuckled at the exchange, before turning to the woman.

"Excuse us, but could you tell us where we could find the Mayor?"

The woman seemed surprised, "The Mayor? Any reason why?"

"Well you see, we're here to eradicate the monster that's been terrorizing this town."

Both the woman and the girl seemed to perk up as they heard this, and hopeful smiles spread on their faces. "Finally! We have been waiting for someone to rid us of that creature. I can definitely show you where the Mayor's office is, right this way Mr…?"

"Clive. Gildarts Clive." He smirked at her, sweeping a hand through his hair.

Natsu's eye twitched at the man's actions. " _Is now really a good time to be a pervert?"_

As Gildarts tried and failed to flirt with the woman, whose name was Yuki he found out, Natsu and Tsurara were engaged in a heated game of Twenty Questions. Our favorite Dragon Slayer's brain was currently swimming with all the questions the little girl was asking him while she was laughing at his thinking face.

As Tsurara laughed, Natsu couldn't help but dwell on a certain white-haired girl. He frowned at the thought, " _Lisanna…"_

The six year old saw his frown, and tugged on his pants. "Are you okay, Mister?"

Her question startled Natsu, and he turned to her. He didn't know what to tell her, so he didn't answer for a few moments. He forced his answer out.

"I will be."

* * *

 **Mayor's Office**

"Ah, Yuki. It's good to see you." The Mayor said. Unlike what Gildarts was expecting, he was a rather fit man. He wore a nice purple suit and looked like a male version of Yuki. Gildarts noticed a snowflake pin on the man's lapel and a picture of him with Yuki, Tsurara and another man.

"You too, Trishula." Yuki said, giving the man a hug.

"Uncle!" came the voice of Tsurara, before she ran to the man and hugged his leg.

The Fairy Tail mages watched the scene play out, a smile coming to Natsu's face at the girl's enthusiasm. He watched the scene play out, before Gildarts cleared his throat

With the moment over, Trishula looked at the two mages. "You are here for the job request, correct?"

Gildarts nodded, confirming the man's thoughts. "Yes, but we would like more information on the monster if you can provide that."

"Of course I can." Trishula's face grew serious. "The creature appears only at night, and showed up around two weeks ago, and slaughtered an entire family. We didn't even know about their deaths until two days later. We tried to stop it, several of the town's strongest men marched into the forest at night. They didn't return."

Natsu clenched his fist, the story igniting his inner flame.

The mayor's face grew grim as he continued the story. "We foolishly sent another group out there in hopes that stopping it would work this time. They failed. They were wiped out, including my sister's husband. My town is in danger and I cannot stand for it anymore. Please, do what you must! Just stop this beast!"

Natsu's anger rose as the story went on, and Tsurara's tears were the final straw. He clenched his teeth, grinding them before looking straight at the mayor. A fierce determination filled his eyes, something that brought a smile to his mentor's face. "Don't worry! We'll take out this monster, I swear!"

"Thank you, young man. Thank you." Trishula bowed his head in gratitude. "Let's find you two a place to stay."

* * *

 **That Night**

The duo of Natsu and Gildarts were currently lounging around their hotel room, having just finished a huge dinner. However, they are no longer allowed back in that restaurant again. Even the mayor, who offered to personally pay their bill was not happy about it one bit.

They checked the time, and saw that it was close to 11:00.

"I think you should head out now, Natsu. Remember, the hopes of everyone in the entire town are on your shoulders." Gildarts placed his hand on the boy's shoulder.

Natsu stiffened at the gesture. He didn't know how to react. It was such a simple act, but it held a lot of meaning for the Dragon Slayer. He shook himself out of his musings. He gave the older man a wide grin, "Alright, I'm all fired up!"

"That's the spirit, now get out there!" The crash mage yelled, pushing an unexpecting Natsu out of the window. The Dragon Slayer flailed his arms about, praying that he would somehow learn flight magic.

He was not that lucky.

Gildarts winced as he heard the impact of Natsu's fall. Did he fall into a trash can or something? And why was a cat screeching?

* * *

 **The next chapter is going to be Natsu's fight against the monster, who I am unsure whether I should name or not. It will also be the start of Natsu's true journey.**

 **Also, I'm gonna try to do longer chapters from now on. This means it will take me a few days to update. Hopefully that's okay with you guys.**


End file.
